Insulator for electric railways



(No Model.)

W. D. MAOQU EST-EN. INSULA TOR FOR ELECT RIG RAILWAYS..

BIO/429,315. Patented June s;1s9q..

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

WVILLIAM D. MACQUESTEN, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES L. EDGAR, TRUSTEE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

INSULATOR FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,315, dated June 3, 1890.

Application filed July 15, 1889.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. MACQUES- TEN, of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Insulators for Electric Railways, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings hanger or suspension being constructed as will be described, by which a stronger and more rigid support is obtained for the trolleywire.

Another feature of my invention consists in providing the hanger referred to with an insulator, whereby the trolley-wire is insu lated or electrically disconnected from the span-wire, the said insulator being of novel construction, as will be described, whereby it is made stronger and more durable and capable of withstanding excessive strains. The hanger or suspension has its lower portion made as a pivoted shoe, constructed as will be described, to prevent the trolley-wire from being bent or kinked at the ends of the shoe.

Myinveution therefore consists, essentially, in the combination, with a span wire or rod and side supports therefor, of a trolley-wire and a hanger or suspension secured to the said span-wire, and consisting of a bracket or spreader provided with upright portions through which the span-wire is extended, and a pivoted shoe secured to said bracket, substantially as will be described.

Other features of my invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents in elevation and section a sufficient portion of an overhead system of electric railway to enable my invention to be understood. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the hanger or suspension shown in Serial No. 317,558. (No model.)

Fig. 1, the section being taken on linea ac, looking toward the left; Fig. 3, a modificatlon to be referred to; Fig. 4, a detail of the pivoted shoe to which the trolley-wire is secured;

Figs. 5 and 6, modifications to be referred to, and Fig. 7 a modified form of shoe.

Referring to Fig. 1, a 0' represent poles, which are usually erected at opposite sides of the streetor road-bed on which the cartracks are laid. The poles at a constitute side supports for a span wire or rod a which is connected to them at their tops and suitably insulated therefrom in any usual manner. lhe span wire or rod a has secured to vit my improved hanger or suspension, concap or shell E), into which the said material is firmly packed or secured, the rod Z) being extended into a threaded socket in the top of said metallic shell to firmly secure the insulator b to the spreader or bracket a The in sulating material 19 has firmly screwed or em bedded into it a threaded thimble b separated from the thimble b by a portion of the insulator, and the said thimble, as herein shown,

has screwed into it a threaded rod b pivotally secured at its lower end, as at 19 to a supporting-shoe b. The metallic shell or cap b is preferably made of such depth as to extend beyond or below the bottom of the thinlble 11 so that when side strain is exerted upon the insulating material b -such, for instance, as when the wire is carried round a curve in the trackthe said strain is resisted by the lower portion of the cap or shell, and that portion of the insulating material between the lower end of the thimble b and the cap or shell is compressed. By eXten ding the cap or shell 1) below the thimble, so that the insulating material is compressed under side strain, the lower portion or edge of the insulator is prevented from being chipped 01 broken off.

The pivoted shoe is preferably provided on one side with an upturned flange U, to form a groove into which the trolley-wire c is laid, the said flange extended from the center toward the opposite ends of the shoe, preferably in a gradually downwardly-diminishing curve, the said groove gradually diminishing in size from near the center of the shoe to near its ends, the said flange just before reaching the ends of the shoe forming a substantially straight edge, as at b. (See Fig. 4:.) The upper portion of the shoe is provided at its ends substantially over the portion which is made straight with a downwardly-turned flange b", which overlaps or encircles the up per portion of the trolley-wire 0, when the latter is laid in the groove formed by the upturned flange on the lower portion of the shoe, the said trolley-wire being in practice sprung into the said groove and firmly secured therein by the shape of the shoe without the use of solder or other usual fastenings.

By means of the pivoted shoe the trolleywire is free to move longitudinally thereonas, for instance, by contraction or expansion of the metal of the wire-and if for any reason the said trolley-wire should sag at either end of the shoe the latter will be turned on its pivot-as, for instance, into the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 2-and the trolley-wire will thus be maintained substantially straight and free from kinks or bends at the ends of the shoe, thereby maintaining good electrical contact between the trolley wheel and wire.

The insulator b will be preferably made of compressed or prepared mica; but it may be of any other usual or well-known insulating material, such as hard rubber, glass, the.

The arms a a of the bracket or spreader are provided with ears 0 which form a groove or recess, into which may be laid guard or shield wires 0 which prevent falling wires from coming into contact with the trolleywire. The trolley-wire by means of the insulator interposed between the bracket and the shoe, as described, is electrically cut oil? from communication with the poles (t a.

In the system of overhead electric railway as now commonly used the trolley-wire is fed at suitable intervals with current from auxiliary or feed wires which may be electrically secured to the span-wire a in any usual manner, and in this case the span-wire connected to a feedwire will have mounted on it a hanger or suspension similar to the hanger or suspension shown in Fig. 1, with the exception porcelain or other insulating material 0 (see Fig. 3,) through which the guard-wires are passed. The guard-wires are firmly secured to the upright arms of the spreader by a tiewire c \Vith this form of construction it will be noticed that the shoe is still free to turn on its pivot and thus maintain the trolley-wire substantially straight.

Instead of clamping the spreader on the span-wire, it may be secured thereon in any other well-known manner, as by set-screws cl, (see Figs. 5 and 6,) and in this case the arm a a may be made solid and provided with holes through which the span-wire is inserted.

I prefer to employ a shoe b constructed as shown in Fig. 4; but I do not desire to limit myself in this respect, as any other form may be usedsuch,for instance, as shown in Fi I 7, wherein the shoe is provided with a semicircular groove, in which the trolley-wire is soldered.

The insulator herein described, consisting of a body of insulating material and a protective cap or shell, may be employed for other insulating purposes.

I claim- 1. The combination, with a span wire or rod and side supports therefor, of a trolleywire and a hanger or suspension secured to the said span-wire, and consisting of abracket or spreader (1, provided with upright portions (0 a, through which the span-wire is eX- tendcd, and a pivoted shoe secured to said bracket, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a span wire or rod and side supports therefor, of a trolleywire and a hanger or suspension secured to the said span-wire, and consisting of a metallic bracket or spreadersecured on said spanwire, an insulator secured to said bracket, and a pivoted shoe secured to said insulator.

The combination, with a span wire or red and side supports therefor, of a trolleywire and a hanger or suspension secured to the said span-wire, and consisting of a bracket or spreader provided with arms having ears to support guard-wires, a pivoted shoe secured to said bracket, and having an upturned flange b and an overlapping flange I), substantially as described.

4:. The combination, with a span wire or red and side supports therefor, of a trolleywire, a hanger or suspension provided with upright portions a a secured to said spanwire, and a guard-wire secured to each of said upright portions above the span-wire, substantially as described.

5. The suspension or hanger consisting of a bracket or spreader having upright portions a a by which the said bracket is secured to a span-wire, and a pivoted shoe secured thereto, substantially as described.

6. The suspension or hanger consisting of a bracket or spreader having upright per tions a (0, combined with an insulator secured to the said bracket and a pivoted shoe secured to said insulator, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the insulator consisting of a bell-shaped body b of insulating material, and a metallic cap or shell Z), enveloping the upper portion of the said body and extended down below the under side of the central portion of said body, of a shank inserted into the said central portion and a shoe pivoted to said shank, substantially as described. r

8. The insulator consisting of the molded bell-shaped body I) of insulating material, a thimble b extended into the central portion of the saidbody on its under side, and a metallic cap or shell enveloping the upper portion of the said body and provided with a threaded socket at its top, and having its lower ends enveloping a portion of the insulating body only, but extended below the said thimble, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM D. MAOQUESTEN.

Witnesses: Y

J AS. H. CHURCHILL, v FREDERICK L. EMERY. 

